Jennifer Pierce
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My journey as an artist began as a child being inspired by the natural world around me. Growing up in Trinidad, I was lucky enough to spend hours in nature hiking, kayaking, bird watching,
fishing, backpacking, riding horses and soaking in nature’s beauty. My brother and I spent hours playing in my mother’s garden, being inspired by colors, creatures, and a rich fantasy life full of gnomes, fairies and imaginative play. Both my parents are artists; my father practiced the Japanese technique of Gyotaku, or fish printing. My mother is a talented weaver, spending hours on her loom, as well as a lifetime developing an amazing garden. Coming from this background, it is easy to see how I was inspired to create! I explored my love of color and texture through drawing and painting all through school, and set out to be an artist in college. After a year at U.C.S.C. I returned home to Humboldt State, and pursued a degree in Multiple Subjects with an art emphasis, and went on to get my teaching credential. Ultimately, I became an elementary school teacher. Although art wasn’t my vocation, I continued to explore painting, sculpture, mask-making, ceramics, multi-media collage and drawing. I married, raised a family in Trinidad, and taught for over 27 years at a school in Arcata. |
In 2018 my friend and mosaic artist, Marcelle Olsen, encouraged me to try mosaic and with her mentorship I began to embark on a new artistic path. I have been hooked ever since! Mosaic is such a tactile experience! Starting with a wooden base, I sketch out a rough design. Next, I glue on glass pieces, beads, or tile pieces, ultimately using grout to finish. Each piece is a product of
hours of cutting and nipping glass into tiny pieces, arranging the pieces to find the right flow and form, color and shape. I am inspired by local flora and fauna, particularly birds, and especially ravens. Each work is an original, and no pieces are ever exactly alike. I most recently have begun a line of mosaic jewelry.
I have always loved glass- there is something so interesting in the colors, the way it refracts the light, its sharpness, and its strength. From collecting beach glass, to admiring antique bottles, old telephone wire insulators, wavy windows and cut door knobs in Victorian houses, it has always amazed me how this material changes over time. It is a pleasure to work with, although
being a mosaic artist can be a “dangerous sport,” and no piece is complete without the artist losing a little blood. The end result is worth it! Every mosaic changes depending on time of day, the light, and where you view it from. The variety of types of glass, the angle of the cutting, the color of the grout all combine to create a unique piece that can never be reproduced. I hope you are inspired by my work.
hours of cutting and nipping glass into tiny pieces, arranging the pieces to find the right flow and form, color and shape. I am inspired by local flora and fauna, particularly birds, and especially ravens. Each work is an original, and no pieces are ever exactly alike. I most recently have begun a line of mosaic jewelry.
I have always loved glass- there is something so interesting in the colors, the way it refracts the light, its sharpness, and its strength. From collecting beach glass, to admiring antique bottles, old telephone wire insulators, wavy windows and cut door knobs in Victorian houses, it has always amazed me how this material changes over time. It is a pleasure to work with, although
being a mosaic artist can be a “dangerous sport,” and no piece is complete without the artist losing a little blood. The end result is worth it! Every mosaic changes depending on time of day, the light, and where you view it from. The variety of types of glass, the angle of the cutting, the color of the grout all combine to create a unique piece that can never be reproduced. I hope you are inspired by my work.
These are some representative pieces. Please visit Trinidad Art Gallery for the latest available pieces.
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